A narrative game, disguised as a poker table, Sunshine Shuffle will take about 3-4 hours to finish. Buggy but cute, whimsical but limited; it really depends how you feel about shootin' some cards while shootin' the shit with critter criminals.

Killer ska soundtrack though. I'd take an entire album of those tracks.

Nintendo catches up to the open world trend and still manages to barely scrape by, through its veterancy in great world building and appealing characters. It's definitely a video game.

A beautiful, introspective journey that serves as a metaphor for the process of emotions around existence and letting go. The adventure gets broken up by some clever puzzles of varying difficulty, from effortless to tricky. The Last Campfire's biggest asset is its sound design, including the best narration in any game, hands down. A highly recommended experience.

Once I made peace with the fact that the game was never going to outgrow its contained experience, I found that tight-knit story very thematically pleasing.

There's half of an amazing game in here, as is customary for Game Freak. A wonderfully charming town, where a boss rush occurs periodically and you solve problems with math. These dragging fights will, however, require a ton of concentration. Luckily, the game only takes a dozen hours to complete.

Mid-io Odyssey.

A loose, open environment game of a few high highs and many more low lows, carried by undeniable charm and ephemeral lovable moments. The Spec Ops: The Line of platformers. Welcome to Mushroom Kingdom.